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Battle of Nationhood
The Battle of Nationhood was a battle in Twilight 197, between the Eru-Judian Dragonships and starships affiliated with the Empire of Triterra. It took place above Iota Zulu in the Pel's Aurora Region. It was named for the proclamation of the Eru-Judian Commonwealth as an independent nation, as the battle was the signal that the Iota Zulu-led Commonwealth would not be kept down easily. Background Subjugation of Iota Zulu See also: War on Triterra During the initial settlement of the Region, Tritach originally controlled one of its quadrants, having under it the colonies of Psi Olympia, Iota Zulu, and Meio, with its own headquarters being at Euerythro. After several battles between the Mega-conglomerates controlling the region, its regional influence collapsed however, and the colonies came under Innovaganix control. But this was not to last, for only a few months later, Innovaganix’ regional power itself collapsed, with most local assets being sold at loss to Southbreak Financial & Medical Securities. At the same time, Maxim Harvey, the erstwhile RCEO of Tritach, declared himself independent of corporate influence and created the so-called Empire of Triterra based out of Euerythro. Within a month, a Triterran fleet had appeared at Psi Olympia, delivering demands for surrender. After the Battle of Iota Zulu, the colony of Iota Zulu in turn had declared itself independent of Mega-conglomerate influence and a member of The Free Systems, but following the subjugation of Psi Olympia it was clear that Triterran ships would soon be arriving above Iota Zulu as well. This was indeed the case, and during the festivities of the Second Abundance, a Battlecruiser-led Astrofleet appeared above the planet, demanding its surrender. With the colony's Deputy Hieronymus Ingran being far from home on business, the Advisory Council of Regents decided to accept the terms of surrender rath er than try to fight against the numerically greatly superior Triterran forces. Thus, Iota Zulu became tributary to the Empire of Triterra, and several Triterran Starships were left in orbit above the colony to ensure compliance, though under the terms of surrender there was no ground garrison left behind. Opposing Forces Iota Zulu's Dragonships at this time numbered some dozen starships, of which around half were Heavy Star Frigates, and were under command of Commodore Akira Venner. The occupying force numbered three Triterran Heavy Star Frigates, who though significantly outnumbered were well armed and equipped. Lead Up Battle of Meio See also: Battle of Meio It was clear that Harvey would soon attempt to subjugate Meio, which was allied to The Free Systems, if it did not receive aid. A great Coalition fleet was drawn together, led by The Free Systems, and battle was joined above and on the colony throughout Twilight of 197. Ingran had been privy to the Coalition's planning, and thus had conceived his own strike against Triterra: if the Coalition fleet was to prove victorious, his own Dragonships would attack the occupying Triterran starships and reassert Iota Zulu's independence, with the aim of proclaiming itself a new and independent nation. While the ground combat on Meio would last longer, the battle in space was quickly, and decisively, won by the Coalition led by The Free Systems, and an encrypted courier was dispatched to Iota Zulu to inform its leadership of this, upon which the Dragonships, long prepared, launched an attack against the Triterran group. Battle After gathering his ships, Commodore Venner sent a request to surrender to Commander Sandoval, promising that his crews would be well treated by their captors, but the Triterran Commander refused to accept this. The Dragonships approached, and briefly, the two sides traded laser fire at medium range, which caused minor damage for both sides before the Triterran warships used their superior speed compared to their counterparts to begin disengaging. The Dragonships' two Sloops of War were however fast enough to keep up the chase, and well armed and armoured enough to make it an even fight, especially upon receiving drone support from the DS Werên and DS Manich. Meanwhile, the remainder of the astrofleet proceeded to break off from the direct chase, opting instead to slingshot around Îsfiur and gain speed that way, relying on the sloops DS Saiwuman and the DS Starcwint to keep the Triterrans engaged. During this maneuver and the absence of the heavier ships from the fight, the DS Saiwuman was heavily damaged and forced to withdraw from the fight, but the DS Starcwint successfully forced one of the Triterran Heavy Frigates to surrender after causing it significant damage. Soon afterwards, the slingshot maneuver was complete and after briefly firing on the remaining enemy ships, they both surrendered. Aftermath Though the battle itself was relatively minor in scale, it did bring about the renewed declaration of Iota Zulu's independence and the proclamation of the Eru-Judian Commonwealth, earning it its name: The Battle of Nationhood, and leading to a significant shift in the self-perception of the population, causing a surge of pride in themselves as Eru-Judian citizens rather than just being poor colonists. It also improved the new nation's understanding of ship to ship combat, and shipbuilding, allowing them to improve on their initial (and rather hasty) First Model Zulu Class Heavy Frigate, leading to the development of the Second Model. The captured ships also swelled the ranks of the Dragonships further. Category:Eru-Judian articles Category:Battles Category:Space battles